April 29, 2008

By Brian LesterFor once, a high-profile college star is coming back to college.North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough said he will return to Chapel Hill for his senior season because he wants to win a national championship. Wow. Imagine that. A college basketball superstar actually is driven by something other than NBA millions. Sure, he has money on his mind and he will make a ton it as a pro in the future. But it's great to see a player driven by a national title, too, because so many college basketball players could care less about their sport's biggest prize. They use college for a year and move on to the NBA. And for the record, if that is what they choose to do, let them. I stick with my stance that the NBA should drop its rule of making players wait a year to enter the draft.Hansbrough, though, is different and he proved as much by deciding to stick around. He even went as far as to say that he loves the college experience.To me, that says a lot about Hansbrough, although a critic will wonder if his decision would be different if he knew he was going to be the top pick. But I digress.I just don't understand why more of college basketball players don't see the college experience the way Hansbrough does. Nothing beats college basketball. The crowds are into the game, the players bring passion and intensity to the floor every single night and nothing beats the madness of March.And the college experience sure does beat playing for a hapless team like Milwaukee or the Los Angeles Clippers.I know. Hansbrough is going to end up playing for one of those lowly teams eventually but at least he will come in with his skills even sharper and he may just have the talent to turn his future team's fortunes around.Ohio State fans can only hope that BJ Mullens isn't a one and done at Ohio State the way sensation Greg Oden was a couple of years ago. My feeling, though, is that he is as good as gone.The kid is ranked as the top recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and I just can't see him passing up the chance to potentially be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 2009. Maybe I'm wrong but I seriously doubt it.Feel free to share your thoughts with me. I'd love to hear them.

April 28, 2008

By Jamie BakerWent to the annual OHSAA discussion meeting in beautiful downtown Tiffin Tuesday.The annual meetings are conducted each spring by the OHSAA around the state for Ohio’s athletic and school administrators along with invited members of the media.I have to admit there wasn’t much discussion, but OHSAA assistant commissioner Roxanne Price did shed some light on a few interesting tidbits that might interest prep sports fans in Ohio.Here is a link to the proposed OHSAA constitutional amendments principals will be voting on.Here are some of the more interesting items discussed:— One change in bylaws already approved by the OHSAA board of control is a new $100 fine that will be levied on coaches who are ejected from an OHSAA contest beginning next school year. The fine applies to sports at all levels from middle school to varsity. In addition, the coach will be required to pay to take an online sportsmanship course which will cost approximately $30. Any fines paid to the OHSAA would go into a fund to the OHSAA’s Respect the Game sportsmanship program.It will be up to each school if the coaches will be required to pay the fine or the schools would pay the fine for the coaches.— One amendment to the OHSAA Constitution that will be voted on by the principals of member schools is changing the rules involving getting rid of the superintendent’s agreement, which a transferring athlete can use to become eligible at a new school. Price said at the meeting that more than 500 superintendent’s agreements have been sent to the OHSAA so far this year and that it has basically just become an athletic release. The rule was originally intended to allow the school superintendent’s to agree to a transfer only to protect a student’s physical or mental well-being.— The other interesting issue principals will be voting on is a referendum brought by Gates Mills Gillmour Academy dealing with exchange students. Currently exchange students from OHSAA approved exchange programs can be eligible for one year. The proposal would amend the exchange student regulations by allowing the following:A student from a country or province outside the United States who is enrolled in a member school that provides housing for the students and accepts the role of the parent in loco parentis may be eligible for interscholastic athletics at the member school. The student is not eligible until ruled eligible by the Commissioner upon submission of the appropriate documents. That means exchange students living at boarding schools, like Gilmour Academy and at least two other OHSAA member schools, would be eligible for as long as their stay here.That’s got about a snowball’s chance in hell of passing.Any thoughts about the possible $100 fine or getting rid of the Superintendent’s agreement?

April 26, 2008

By Dave HannemanThis horse has been whipped a time or three. But he ain’t dead yet, so here goes .....I was talking to some people the other day and the topic of Findlay High’s future came up. Specifically, Findlay’s future league affiliation.There’s a general consensus out there that something is going to happen.When? Who knows?Why? Economics.Where to? That triggered more speculation than anything else.If, when, and how all the shaking and baking comes about, Findlay’s best bet would be to align with the Northern Lakes League. Face it, it makes the most sense.If it joined the NLL, Findlay would be the league’s biggest school in terms of enrollment. But across the board Findlay would be a good fit in the league.The NLL base typifies suburban, middle-to-upper-middle-class America. That’s Findlay to a ‘T’.When you’re talking league affiliation, you’re talking sports. Football and basketball are the big-money sports everywhere, but in this case, let’s take those sports out of the picture. Besides, I doubt Findlay would dominate either one of those sports, not at this point anyway.It’s in the ‘other’ sports where Findlay really seems like a good fit for the NLL, sports like golf and tennis and cross country and swimming and soccer. Findlay does very well in those sports. NLL schools do, too. The overall competition in those sports would be balanced and strong.Here’s the down side from Findlay’s standpoint. The NLL owes Findlay nothing. Nada. Zilch.The NLL is obviously in a great position. It’s a buyers market as far as their league is concerned. The NLL has had word out that teams interested in joining the conference can apply. The NLL is obviously hedging its stock in the event that Rossford, the league’s smallest school may jump to the Suburban Lakes League now that Lakota (accepted into the Midland Athletic League) has created a vacancy in the SLL ranks.I hear Fremont Ross, Findlay’s long-time rival in the Buckeye Conference, the Great Lakes League and now the Greater Buckeye Conference, is interested in moving to the NLL. I’m sure Napoleon, the smallest of the GBC schools, would love to switch over as well.If Findlay has any inkling of making a move, it may want to get its hat in the ring as soon as possible. My thinking here is that it would be better to appear eager to join the NLL now than come around begging for acceptance if or when the GBC folds.The NLL is in great bargaining position because it has a lot of options. If Rossford leaves, the league would have seven teams. Bad number there, because of the bye week it creates. So the league would be looking to add an odd numbers of new teams — one, three, possibly five. If it goes to five teams it would also go to two divisions, probably based on enrollment. Three teams doesn’t seem like a possibility because in a 10-team league you could schedule only one non-league game in football and two (if they keep a double-round format) in basketball.Travel would not be a problem. The I-75 and its outer belt around Toledo make the NLL very accessible. The drawback for Findlay is that it would be the southernmost school in the conference, and a lot of NLL administrators could be thinking, "Why make the trek clear down there when there are closer schools we can hook up with?"Eventually, I feel economics will create a crunch crisis. There will come a time, perhaps soon, when some schools will simply be unable to bear the cost of sending a bus-load of junior high or freshman or maybe even some varsity and JV teams on a 2-hour trip for a mid-week athletic contest.With gas prices at the front of what will be higher costs across the board, it might be time for not just individual schools and separate leagues to consider their options, but entire regions of the state. Face it, everybody is going to get pinched. Maybe it’s time for some people with both insight and foresight to call all the schools together, stand up before them, bang the gavel on the podium and say, "There are tough times ahead for all of us. But if we’re smart and practical and innovative and cooperative, we might be able to make a little easier for everybody."Who knows, it just might work.

April 25, 2008

By Joe WilliamsIf you didn’t see New Riegel and Bettsville’s box score from Wednesday then you missed the Blue Jackets 40-1 absolute thrashing of the Bobcats, yes you read that correctly and it is not a typo, 40-1. Before you rip New Riegel and its coaches to the high heavens take a minute and finish reading this blog.

New Riegel’s coach was put in a tough situation having only 13 healthy players and without a junior varsity team to pull players from some Blue Jacket starters had to remain in the game. It is not like New Riegel can just drop Bettsville from its schedule either they are in the same league so once a year both teams have to put on the gloves and take the field.

The Blue Jackets did everything in their power to shorten the game as quickly as they could and end the Bobcat misery including not stealing, no bunting and not advancing on passed balls. They even made outs on purpose including the final out.

If you look at the box score New Riegel did have some extra base hits as they should have. You cannot expect players to stop at first base when a ball is hit deep into the outfield, that in my eyes would be more disrespectful and a slap in the face then trying to purposely run up the score.

As a coach with only 13 healthy girls you have to worry about getting someone hurt and New Riegel is a quality team, they placed second over the weekend in the Northwest Ohio Catholic School’s Association tournament, a injury to a key player could have derailed any hopes of making a run at the Midland Athletic League title or a deep run in the playoffs.

Last week after a Carey pitcher tossed a perfect game against Bettsville (1-9) the thought ran through my mind why not take your junior varsity team to play the Bobcats, again New Riegel could not do so because they do not have a junior varsity team? It sounds disrespectful and I am still wishy-washy on this, but is it worth the risk of injuring a varsity starter? To me the coaches of New Riegel, Carey and the rest of the schools in the MAL are put in a no-win situation, no matter what they do someone is still going to get angry with them.

I give all the credit in the world to the girls from Bettsville and it coaching staff, not many high school kids would continue to go back out to the field after a loss(es) like that. But the Bobcats keep toughing it out.

So hopefully you have read all the way down to the end and have cooled your jets, New Riegel in my humble opinion was not trying to see how many runs they could score or break any records they were just playing the game in a respectful manor. Now it’s your turn, what say you?

April 24, 2008

By Mark HeimanThe note was on the desk when we arrived Tuesday.The Northern Lakes League is currently conducting a search of schools interested in seeking membership into the conference.Hmmmm. Makes you think that the league is planning on losing someone. Shall we say Rossford to the SLL. If not, why would they be out looking for someone. The NLL is one of those nice eight-team leagues. So that tells me maybe, just maybe, Rossford will back down on its allegiances to the NLL and move over to the SLL, where it fits a bit better enrollment wise.So who is headed to the NLL should Rossford leaves.I’ve heard Napoleon is big-time interested. That may blow up the Greater Buckeye Conference as there would be just five teams left.I’ve also heard Oregon Clay and Toledo Whitmer are interested in the NLL, too. So if three teams are interested the NLL could go to a 10-team league. That hurts a bit when it comes to football computer points, but it can still be done.But why is the NLL pursuing teams this far south. Is the league interested in Findlay? Maybe it’s even after Fremont Ross. That would be pretty cool. Make it a 12-team league with two football divisions based upon enrollment. Each team would have five football games to play and then five non-league games. They could cross into the other division for those games or just go outside the league.The rest of the sports could just play one round and then still have nine non-league games to pick up. Sounds like a great idea.But once again, everyone has to take a wait-and-see approach.

April 23, 2008

EDITOR'S NOTE: We'd like to welcome a new blogger to The Blanchard River Buzz. WFIN/WXKA sports director Chris Miller will be stopping by and blogging on occasion. Hopefully, he can add some insight on the Trojans and other local sports topics.

By Chris MillerAs an outsider it seems a match made in heaven for Vanlue and Arcadia to consolidate. Here's a link to a story of a possible merger in Tuesday's Courier. However, for those who’ve been a part of this rivalry, the origin of the union isn’t so celestial. Any fan of Ohio State or Michigan, the Browns or Steelers, Bowling Green or Toledo and even Findlay and Fremont can relate. Obviously there are going to be a lot more important variables in the decision than athletics. But sports are exactly the reason the two communities should take a walk down the aisle. Suspending reality for a moment (something I’m very good at), and borrowing one of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s Christmas Eve visitors, let’s take a look at seasons past and what might have been. This past season, Vancadia might have celebrated a BVC basketball championship. With all league honorees Josh Kloepfer, Nick Lee, John Arnold and Jordan Cook, Vanlue lost to Liberty Benton by 8 points and Pandora Gilboa by three. Put Arcadia all leaguers CJ Holman, Landon Fleegle and Austin Riggs on that team and the Red Cats not only win those games but could have turned the tables on Van Buren and Arlington and a BVC title banner would be hanging above the court on the stage at Vanlue. (Even though we’re in a dream state here, we know it’s going to take a while to fund a new school building. Therefore the Vanlue gymtorium provides a huge home court advantage.) Just think of the excitement the Vancadia – Van Buren rematch in the district championship game at Liberty Benton would have generated.How about the Arlue football team giving the two districts fans their first ever taste of the state playoffs. Think of the traffic on State Route 12 as John C. Kieffer Stadium hosted it’s first ever playoff game. While Mason True and Austin Riggs would spearhead a stingy defense, the Wildskins offense would fill the seats. Joining Jake Aurand and Seth Kirian in the backfield would be dual threat quarterback Nick Lee. With a running game and some protection up front, Lee and his receivers would light up scoreboards and stuff stat sheets across the BVC. Josh Kloepfer, CJ Holman and Jordan Cook combined for 199 receptions last year, 58 more then the top four receivers on the league’s most prolific passing team at McComb. Although that might not have been enough to knock off league champ LB, the added firepower would have resulted in wins over Pandora Gilboa, Arlington and McComb and a second place finish in the BVC. And don’t worry about the loss of a bitter rivalry. That void would be filled by Riverdale who would join the BVC as it’s 10th member school. This isn’t the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s.Remember the Cole twins a few years ago? They survived in the same household while one went to Vanlue and the other to Arcadia battling each other on the football field.With all the hardware that will be won on the field of competition as a result of the consolidation, the Wildcat and Redskin fans will have no trouble coexisting.

April 21, 2008

I played for two different coaches during my high school baseball career. One was pretty laid back and easy going. The other was as intense as a pit bull.

They both had one thing in common, though: they drilled us, drilled us, drilled relentlessly on defense.The last coach I had never finished practice until every guy on the infield played five straight ground balls flawlessly.

What got me thinking about defense is some of the box scores we take on a nightly basis ... and there are tons of them. One thing I've noticed is the number of errors being committed. So I went back and did some digging and here's a sampling of an average week:

SATURDAYS PAPER -- Seven baseball teams commited at least four errors. In one game, one team had six errors, the other team five. In that same paper, two softball teams committed eight errors in one game and two other teams had seven each.

FRIDAY'S PAPER -- In three baseball games, the two teams combined for more than 10 total errors. Three teams had seven or more.

THURSDAY'S PAPER -- Hordes of baseball teams had three, four and five errors each. One softball team had 11.

WEDNESDAY'S PAPER -- Three baseball teams had six or more errors, five others had at least four.Three softball teams had at least six errors, one had nine.

TUESDAY'S PAPER -- One baseball team committed 10 errors. Another had eight and a third had seven. Four softball teams had five or more errors in a game.

MONDAY'S PAPER -- One baseball team committed eight errors, two others had five. One softball team had nine errors, two others had eight.

Hey, I realize errors are a part of the game. We're talking 15-, 16-, 17-year-old high school kids here, not Major Leaguers. But the huge number of errors is a bit baffling and, I feel, cause for concern.

While taking baseball and softball reports, I put the question to coaches on why the high numbers of errors. I got a bunch of opinions, everything from young and inexperienced players to rough field conditions to more balls being put in play because teams are using more (and less dominant) pitchers beacuse of the longer seasons. Heck, when I was in high school our whole season amounted to 10 or 12 games. We have some area teams with that many games in already and they are not even halfway through their schedules.

One comment that stuck with me was the statement one coach made about sandlot ball and free time play. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Kids today have so many options to choose from that us middle-agers never had. When I was a kid and I had some free time, my brother and I would grab a bat and a glove and spend hours hammering the ball at each other. You learned pretty quick that if you didn't get in front of the ball or knock ir down, you'd be chasing after it. You don't see kids doing that anymore. Now a days if kids are going to play ball, it has be an organized game, one team against another. They get a few ground balls during warmups, then might not see more than one or two balls hit their way the rest of the game.

That's just my opinion on the huge number of errors plaguing many games. I'd be interested to know what you think of the situation.

By Jamie BakerA couple of interesting topics were discussed at the latest Arcadia Board of Education meeting.Of course there’s the unresolved topic of Vanlue’s letter suggesting a joint meeting with the Arcadia board to discuss a possible merger. That still has not been resolved and no meeting date has been set as of yet.But the bigger issue is that Arcadia will likely be implementing some kind of drug testing for its athletes.Here’s a link to a story that was in our sister paper the Review Times.The preliminary draft of Arcadia’s drug testing policy would allow for four student athletes to be tested each week during the fall and winter and two students each week in the spring.The testing takes two to three minutes and the school decides when it is conducted. Some schools prefer to make sure it doesn’t interfere with academics and do the testing after school while others do it during the day, according to Kyle Prueter, president of Great Lakes BioMedical ahe Perrysburg-based company is a drug and alcohol testing firm that specializes in school systems.Although its just a draft, the testing would be random and only include athletes from what I understand from the story.Here’s my question? Why? I don’t mean why the drug tests, I mean why only athletes? Why not band, debate, Spanish Club? Why not random drug tests for the student body?How about drug-testing teachers, administrators and board members too while they are at it?Test one, test all.What do you think?

April 20, 2008

By BRIAN LESTERCovered the University of Findlay's Orange and Black spring football game Friday night and came away with several thoughts.First, the Oilers still need to find their quarterback and the offense needs to be far more consistent and efficient. Anthony Lanzara, Jonathan Mora and former Findlay High standout Chris Schneider all had their moments where they looked good. I was impressed with the drive Schneider pieced together with under six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. He completed all three of his passes on the drive and helped set up the block for Melvin Jackson' 2-yard run into the end zone as the Black squad rallied for a 17-12 victory.Speaking of Jackson and Elijah Griffin for that matter, they are definitely a solid one-two punch for the Oilers out of the backfield.The running game should be tough to stop. The key now is getting a passing attack to match it. The player that ends up as the QB--- and we can't forget about incoming freshman Billy Noonan (the kid shredded defenses to the tune of more than 8,000 yards in his career and won back-to-back state titles at St. Pius X in Houston) possibly having a shot at the starting job --- will have a lot of weapons to throw to.One of those weapons is redshirt junior Mike Chambers. He was one of the best players in the nation coming out of high school in 2005 and he didn't do to badly at Minnesota. A lack of playing time led to his decison to transfer and he said he came here because a current UF assistant who worked at Kent State back in 2005, tried to recruit him in high school.I talked to Chambers for quite some time last night and he definitely seems to be a team player. I didn't detect an ego. And trust me, if the QB throws the ball his way,he will catch it. He displayed his speed when he returned a blocked punt 22 yards for a touchdown in the spring game. I thought the Oilers defense showed a lot of promise. They ended up with a few interceptions and former Liberty-Benton standout Brandon Craft had one of them. He shouldbe a great linebacker for UF this year. Former FHS standout Andrew Leddy showed a lot of promise as well in the game at linebacker and was in on several tackles.Yes, the Oilers are going to be young and there is no question they have a lot of work to do to successfully compete in the rugged Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this coming season. But UF head coach Jon Wauford has those players believiing in themselves and believing in what he is teaching. He has UF going in the right direction and I will come out and say that I the Oilers will finish the 2008 season with a winning record. With a little luck, the playoffs are always possible, but the Oilers are closing in on the day when they will be consistent contenders for a league title and playoff berth.Legendary retired UF head football coach Dick Strahm told me as much Friday night. And if Strahm believes the future of the Oilers is bright -- his credibility comes with having won four NAIA national titles at UF) --- everyone else should to.

April 19, 2008

By Dave HannemanFrom what I hear, organizations who run some of the youth sports programs in Findlay may be forming battle lines over what for them is prime real estate. The issue is Emory Adams Park and the opposing groups, from what I understand are the soccer people and the baseball/softball people. The soccer people are upset because the city is supposedly going to take areas they have used for their sport and will build ball diamonds on it for baseball and softball. I’ve seen site maps of Emory Adams from 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the main area in question appears to be on the east side of the park. In the 2006 site map, that area is designated as a "practice area." I’m guessing that means a practice area for soccer. One map I’ve seen has a four-diamond baseball and/or softball complex in that area, plus two separate fields for "flag football." If I understand it right, the baseball/softball people may lose a couple of diamonds near the middle of the facility, but gain some playing areas east of Eagle Creek. The crux of the matter seems to be proportional allotment. The numbers I keep hearing are that there are roughly 1,200 kids playing soccer compared to about 400 playing baseball and 400 for softball (I’m sure those numbers are estimates). The soccer people are saying, "Hey, if we have as many or more kids playing soccer now than in the past, why are we losing ground (figuratively speaking) when it comes to facilities?" I’ve even heard it said that while past city administrations may have been more receptive to soccer, the current administration favors the stick and ball sports, and that’s why changes are being made. When I still lived in Findlay, the place I rented was not that far from Emory Adams. I went there and got into pick-up baseball and softball games. Other times I’d take my golf clubs along and just hit some balls for practice. Back then, the area seemed humongous. It seemed there was enough room there for everybody and every sport. Obviously that’s not the case. It’s sort of a good news-bad news situation, really. On the one hand, there are obviously a lot of parents getting a lot of kids involved in a lot of activities. And that’s good. But unless these organizations can agree to share what limited facilities there may be and put them to the most productive uses possible, it’s the kids who just want a place to play a game who may be shorted in the long run.

April 18, 2008

By Mark HeimanHaving my day hours free and always looking to make a little extra cash, I became a certified substitute teacher last spring.It’s fun to see the education system at work, I like to work with kids and it gets me out of the house, especially during the winter hours.I had the opportunity to do a little physical education subbing this week and took the kids outside to play wiffle ball. It was great weather, so it was an easy choice.But I was disturbed by the fact that about half of the kids didn’t know how to play wiffle ball. I explained it was just like baseball. They didn’t know how to play baseball either. So I said it was like kickball. Nope, not that either.What in the heck are kids doing all the time? Are they just parking in front of the TV or playing Wii and Xbox? Does nobody teach their kids about the national pastime?I think that it’s the fact that kids do not just go outside and play anymore. Everything has to be organized sports.I used to play outside as a kid all the time. It didn’t matter. We’d play whatever sport was in season, ride bikes, build clubhouses, whatever. But to play to just have fun was the greatest thing. You don’t see kids just hanging out and playing kickball, baseball, driveway basketball or touch football as much anymore. I must be a little bit old school, because I’ve always pushed my kids to go outdoors to play. And they enjoy doing it. We love to pitch to one another, play kickball, four square or whatever.But I think there are a lot of kids not getting the opportunity to just hang out and play. Maybe that’s why we’re becoming a nation of fat people.

April 17, 2008

By Jamie BakerOne of the things I really like about my job in the spring is helping compile the Courier Track Honor Roll. Here’s how we do it. We take all the results submitted to us each week, format them and we have this nifty little program called sports tables that sorts and orders them. It’s really pretty neat. Sports tables also works for sorting football and basketball standings too. The track honor roll is always interesting and gives us a gauge on who and what to watch in upcoming invitationals and the postseason. But we can’t put area athletes’ best efforts in the track honor roll if we don’t have the results so coaches make sure you submit all of your meets both home and away. There have already been some impressive performances turned in so far. I’ve put together a page for the track honor roll here on the blog. Here’s a link to it or you can just click on the link for it under the Buzz Extras section to the left on this page. I’ll try and update it 2 or 3 times a week throughout the season. I still have to feed in the results from Tuesday night so I’ll update it sometime later this afternoon.Some of the marks that have caught my eye include: — Bluffton’s John Guagenti in the 200 (22.2) and 400 (49.0) and the Pirates’ 800 (1:31.7) and 400 (44.1) relays. — Columbus Grove’s Heath Nickles’ 15-8 mark in the pole vault and his 40.3 in the 300 hurdles.— Ottawa-Glandorf’s Nolan Croy’s 40.2 time in the 300 hurdles.— Bluffton’s Bonnie Stratton’s 12.7 time in the 100.— Ottawa-Glandorf’s Allison Schroeder and Riverdale’s Kayla Brown’s sub-48s in the 300 hurdles.— Elmwood’s Curtis Smithey’s school record time of 22.3 will be in the next honor roll.Looks like there will be plenty of area athletes on the awards stand again this year in Columbus the first weekend in June. Who has impressed you so far this season?

April 16, 2008

By Jamie BakerThis entry is a memo to my boss, Courier sports editor Larry Alter.Larry, I’ll be asking for the day off for each of the Cleveland Browns home regular season games this season. The 2008 NFL schedule has been released and it looks like a tough one for the Brownies. The complete schedules for the Browns, Bengals, Steelers and Lions are listed below.Seven of the 13 teams reached the playoffs, including the defending Super Bowl champion Giants. The Browns have a bye in Week 5, which will give them two weeks to prepare for New York in a Monday night game in Week 6. Only four of Cleveland's 2008 opponents had losing records last season — Baltimore, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Denver. I’ll have to take a few non-Sundays off to watch the Browns this season. After a 5-year hiatus, the Browns will finally be back on Monday Night Football, not once, but three times.They’ll play the Super Bowl champs the New York Giants at home Monday Oct. 13. They’ll also play Monday night road games at Buffalo (Nov. 17) and at Philadelphia (Dec. 15). Their first primetime game of the season will be a Sunday nighter at home against Big Ben and the Steelers in Week 2 on Sept. 14.The Browns will also play a Thursday night game at home against the Broncos Nov. 6. That game will be shown on the NFL network.The regular season will wrap up in Dec. 28 in Pittsburgh.Seven of the 13 teams reached the playoffs, including the defending Super Bowl champion Giants. The Browns have a bye in Week 5, which will give them two weeks to prepare for New York in a Monday night game in Week 6. Only four opponents had sub-.500 records last season — Baltimore, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Denver. Can the Browns finally unseat the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens win the AFC North?What say y’all?

April 15, 2008

By Mark HeimanThere was a very interesting development Monday night over in Carey.Boys basketball coach C.J. Kin did not have his contract renewed at Carey’s school board meeting.According to a story that appears in today’s edition of The Courier, the school board defeated a supplemental contract list of more than 50 positions by a 3-1 vote. Board member Mike Roszman abstained since his wife, Eileen, is the junior varsity volleyball coach.The board then met in a 40-minute executive session. After the session, the board voted 4-0, with Roszman again abstaining, to renew an amended supplemental contract list, but Kin’s name was not on the list.What the heck is going on in Carey. Kin has been in charge of the program since the 2001-2002 season. There were a few lean years early on, but the Blue Devils have started to turn the corner.During the 2006-07 season, Carey won a share of the Midland Athletic League, its first since 1994. The Blue Devils stunned Mohawk on a last second shot by Vincent Windau and shared the crown with Mohawk and Seneca East.Then this past season, Carey finished 8-2 in the MAL to finish tied for second with Mohawk, two games behind Tiffin Calvert.Overall the Blue Devils were 13-9 and advanced to the district tournament.Kin is 69-87 in his seven seasons, including a 25-17 mark the past two years.So I wonder what gives. Is a parent or parents sticking their nose(s) in where they don’t belong? Is the board just not happy with Kin’s performance?I can’t quite figure it out, especially since Kevin Bame was hired as assistant varsity boys basketball coach and Aaron Schoenberger as the junior varsity boys basketball coach.Another interesting thing I noticed is that the normal assistants were hired back for girls basketball, but no mention was made of Tom Lee being hired as the girls varsity basketball coach.So somebody give us some answers.